I am in the process of removing all fiber internet poles, listed as “converge”. A local internet company. All these are marked as “mail box”.
This is commercial use of the platform in an inappropriate manner.
OpenStreetMap
I am in the process of removing all fiber internet poles, listed as “converge”. A local internet company. All these are marked as “mail box”.
This is commercial use of the platform in an inappropriate manner.
Discussion
Comment from GOwin on 26 December 2021 at 02:26
Welcome to OpenStreetMap, and thanks for sharing your thoughts in OSM’s diary.
First off, it may not necessarily be “spam”. Are they really marking utility poles that are on the ground? Are these poles they operate? If that’s the case, then
man_made=utility_poleis perfectly alright. If these are Converge’s own pole, you can even add operator=Converge. However, I personally have doubts about them using their own poles, because utilities usually share or use existing street utility poles. That will require personal knowledge, or some local validationThe commercial use of the data on the OSM platform is actually welcome, and very much within the scope of the OSM License.
You appear to be mapping in the Philippines. If you’re keen to get in touch with fellow contributors, check out the available community channels for peer-to-peer support: osm.org/wiki/PH
Comment from GOwin on 26 December 2021 at 02:30
Looking at the history of the features you are referring to, the contributors appear to be using Maps.Me. That app is notorious for its limited set of tags they make available, so contributors are forced to use inappropriate tags for real life objects.
Apart from utility_poles, it’s possible they might be tagging street cabinets, too.
Comment from Darkshark on 26 December 2021 at 02:38
Thanks for the further explanation. All these were tagged as “post box”. So they show up as a place to drop your mail. I will refrain from deleting in the future and rather change the tag or seek further advice.
Thank you
Comment from GOwin on 26 December 2021 at 03:08
You are correct, though, that they’re unlikely to be post boxes. You can add a fixme tag, in lieu of the post box tag.
If street level imagery is available in the area, it might give you more clues about what those features are.
By the way, glad to see a fellow OsmAnd user. 😁